1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a safety mechanism for projectile weapons and in particular to a device for preventing the movement of the trigger and/or hammer of a projectile weapon to a position which could result in a discharge of a loaded weapon.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Each year many persons are killed by the unintentional or accidental discharge of projectile weapons. Projectile weapons include firearms and any device capable of propelling an object through the air such as a power nail driver or staple gun. Thus, there is a need for a device which will prevent the movement of a trigger and/or hammer to a position in which the weapon can be discharged. However, such a device must be easy to install and use in order to encourage the use of such a safety mechanism with all projectile weapons.
Many types of safety devices for firearms are known. One group of such devices involves a pin or slide which is moved into and out of engagement with the hammer such as shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 289,875; 311,323; 792,381; and 1,227,531. Another type of safety mechanism involves a pin or lever which prevents the actuation of the trigger mechanism such as shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 80,043; 132,222; 206,217; 239,652; 2,379,946; 2,458,616; 2,657,490; 3,153,874; 3,222,809; 3,711,979; 3,713,239; 3,713,242; 3,732,641; 3,861,069; 3,964,200; and 4,050,662. In the alternative, there is a class of devices which blocks the insertion of a finger in front of the trigger to prevent the actuation of the trigger such as shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,079,855; 1,563,250; 1,569,553; 2,195,693; 2,525,886; 2,590,516; 2,664,658; 3,422,560; 3,956,842; 4,084,341; 4,198,026; 4,299,045; and 4,395,837.
All of the above mentioned prior art devices have disadvantages such as being complicated in structure and requiring substantial modifications to the firearms. With respect to those devices which utilize removable pins, the pins are easily lost rendering the safety mechanism inoperable.